User:Jamiefowler08//Recuayculture

Recuay Culture

In the central highland regions of Peru, Callejon de Huaylas and the Cordillera Blanca, which is a mountain region, contain archeological evidence of Recuay culture style fine-ware ceramics, stone sculpture, and other architecture. Recuay period in the archeological record includes 200-600 BCE, followed by Wari culture. The Recuay sub-divisions of periods fall in The Early Intermediate (200-600 BCE), that is Post Recay Period (500-600 A.D.), Classic Recuay Period (300-500 A.D.), Early Recuay Period (0-300 A.D.), and Proto Recuay Period (200 B.C.-0 A.D.). The White-on-Red can be understood as the Proto Recuay Period, which refers to a phase of southern Recuay zone interaction. Recuay culture was a stratified society, life consisted of some people living in nicely built homes, containing a drainage system, stone slabs of walls, containing high-status items including jewelry Cromphout). Some members of their society did not live in the center, but around the outskirts, creating a different set of clay artifacts and non-precious stones, such as in Chinchawas and Yayno.

Architecture

Recuay architecture can be understood as being similar to the open concept style, similar to Recuay ceramics, and include subterranean structures that were tombs, galleries, or hallway-like tunnels. The subterranean areas were usually round or square shaftlike entrances, the bottom of the shart separated by stone slabs. Any above-ground architecture consisted of temples or domestic dwellings with the spaces in these structures separated by walls. The forms of Recuay architecture included temples, tombs, and domestic dwellings. And contained several ornamental elements which are low relief carved boarded panels, low relief carved stone lintels, the free-standing status of individuals, low relief carved stone blocks displaying the “Step-fret” or rainbow motifs. As well as relief-carved stone slabs having central figures flanked by two frontal faced felines including the profile, and lastly carved stone tenon heads of warriors, birds, and the Recuay feline.

Ceramics

Some Recuay ceramics, including the Recuay fancy ceramics, are unique in their use of white kaolin clay that was local to this area. Recuay being surrounded by other cultures at the time, including Moche culture ceramics, can be seen intermixing ceramic styles of complex decorative techniques. Decorative techniques include painting these ceramic pieces. White kaolin clay, or sometimes known as China clay, is a soft clay that can also be used for skin care as well as ceramics. Recuay culture is also known for being the first culture in Peru “that clearly and consistently chose to depict humans involved in human affairs.” There are clear parallels between Recuay ceramics and Moche ceramics. A gameboard artifact was found in the Callejon de Hauylas from the Classic Recuay period. Smith understands it to be important for many factors, the gameboard could have functioned as a divination device, importance to ceremonial practices, and had social value. And because of the fact that this gameboard was made out of wood and not stone

Sculptures

Recuay sculptures can be interpreted by Richard Shaedel (1948), who divided several stone sculptures in the Callejon de Huaylas into three chronological phases. The White-on-Red horizon period, Early Recuay, and Classic Recuay. First, “Huaraz and Aija free-standing statues of the individual which exhibit detail with continuous curvilinear lines”. Second, free-standing peoples and pumas, as well as humans flaked two frontal-faced felines with a lot of detail. Lastly, located mainly at Pashash, low relief panels of the “Happy Face” motif. The happy face motif is related to the central figure or puma slabs. There are several motifs found as well for Recuay style art, the Recuay feline, Al Jolson, The Birds, and Cross motif are represented as well. John Smith’s three themes of bulk modeled ceramic vessels include the representations of an “oversized figure accompanied by up to six attendants”. As well as the pastoralist complex, which includes a warrior-priest escorting a llama or playing instruments. This represents the high ritual status. And lastly the propagation scene. John Williamson Smith, Jr., Ph.D. understands the Recuay ceramic art style as having recurring themes, representing identifiable motifs, and recognizable materials and techniques in his dissertation "The Recuay Culture: A Reconstruction Based on Artistic Motifs". These techniques include but are not limited to kaolin clay, having resit or negative recreations, polychrome decorations, and modeled vessels.

Iconography

Ceramic pieces were able to depict different levels of human relation to other humans, creating a unique experience of Recuay style iconography. Recuay iconography includes an understanding of their society and social rankings, which include topics such as the male warrior and religious life. "Recuay material culture and its techniques of manufacture are also unique; most of them emphasized chiefs and/or ranked personages as an imposed value system." Men being the topic of ceramic pieces and iconography were at the center of religious celebrations was much different than the woman in Recuay culture ceramics, who had a lower ceremonial status. Women were seen in these scenes as having significance to fertility possibly in Recuay life. Men were associated in this culture with clothing such as headdresses, and earspools, and necklaces were mostly worn by men as well. Women could have normal or braided hair, having more bracelets than men, and could have a painted or tattooed face. Recuay iconography is similar to other cultures such as Chavín, yet Recuay represents a concept of divinity in its use of elaborate clothing and human-related iconography. Iconographic evidence presents itself in ceramic goods but also by burial goods and the treatment of some compared to others. Men were also seen having more animal motifs than women’s clothing had, including felines, birds, snakes, and anthropomorphic faces. By viewing the use of space on ceramic vessels, we can interpret that larger figures are more important socially than smaller figures as fair as characters of the vessels are understood. Near Callejon de Huylas, Reguay ceramics from this area represent agro-pastoralist traditions and figures that play into the larger figures of warrior-priests.

Social Structure

Socially, people in a Recuay society participated in ceremonial roles and wore specific pieces of clothing that could have indicated their social ranking to be different than one another. By using archeological evidence we can view a ranking of people, organized by solo, main, and secondary representations that have placements in iconography. Higher status pieces, mostly worn by men, included copper earrings, pendants that could have been made from shell or stone, reflecting the use of metallurgy. The concept of theocratic control, or the control over people based on the concept of divinity in relation to others not being ‘Gods’, represents itself on the social scale. It shows itself in the Recuay art styles. Mortuary practices in Recuay culture, the few preserved representations, included chambers that were built underneath boulders, some were subterranean. 'The tombs normally feature a stone chamber lined up with nicely dressed stones and slab fillers." They featured some grave goods, like ceramics and jewelry. Our understanding of Recuay's socio-political organization can be seen from iconography, where social inequality existed among them.

References

Cromphout, Alexandra. "Social Differentiation Among The Recuay: An Iconographic Study". Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. https://journals.iai.spk-berlin.de/index.php/indiana/article/view/2386/1986

Ponte, V., Hudson, Jean, Sherman, Jason, & Villamil, Laura. (2015). Regional Perspective of Recuay Mortuary Practices: A View from the Hinterlands, Callejon De Huaylas, Peru, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Quilter, Jeffrey. The Ancient Central Andes. Taylor & Francis, 2013.

Smith, John. THE RECUAY CULTURE: A RECONSTRUCTION BASED ON ARTISTIC MOTIFS (1978): ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Web.

Jamiefowler08 (talk) 04:52, 3 May 2021 (UTC)